JAN.14, 2018 OUR GROUP 23 OF MORNING HOTSHOTS

“The A.A. members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would not only find a way to live without having a drink, but that I would find a way to live without wanting to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said if you want to know how this program works, take the first word of your question the ‘H’ is for honesty, the ‘O’ is for open-mindedness, and the ‘W’ is for willingness; these our Big Book calls the essentials of recovery.”

2001 AAWS, Inc. Fourth Edition

Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 549-50

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VERNON HOWARD

“These teachings reveal stars you never before knew existed in

the spiritual skies.”

Cosmic Command, # 222

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The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to

Accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And the Wisdom to know the difference.

We were now at Step Three. Many of us said to our Maker, as we understood Him:

“God, I offer myself to Thee – to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the

bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them

may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy

will always!”

We thought well before taking this step making sure we were ready; that we could at last abandon

ourselves utterly to Him.

Seventh Step Prayer

-The Seventh Step Prayer is from page 76. The Big Book

When ready, we say something like this:

“My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now

remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you

and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.”

We have then completed Step Seven.

-(Both derived from page 86 in the Big Book)

St Francis Prayer

-From Chapter 11 of “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions”

“Lord, make me a channel of they peace,

that where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that where there is discord, I may bring harmony

that where there is error, I may bring truth;

that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;

to understand, than to be understood;

to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.”

St. Francis Assisi (1182-1228).

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“The road to freedom lies, not through mysteries or occult performances, but through the intelligent use of Nature’s forces and laws. The Law of Mind is a natural law in the spiritual world.”

Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

I didn’t want to commit, I thought I could

never follow through with anything.

Anonymous

Longing, felt fully, carries us to belonging.

TARA BRACH

“The wars of men are like the quarrels of children; both are meaningless and stupid,”

RUMI

ACIM Workbook Lesson 14 Insights

“God did not create a meaningless world.”

With this lesson Jesus is bringing us an important step in our process of returning to Love. Love, our Source, is changeless. Love is eternal. Love is formless. Love is everywhere. Love is all. Therefore, what is not Love is an illusion. It is not real. Image making, or projecting thoughts that are unreal, different from Love, can never really replace Love even though it appears to do so for a while.

Part of the waking up process is to clearly recognize that making up images of a world of separation is not real. Separation is not of Love. Separation is the opposite of Love. Separation is not a sin because in truth it never happened. It could never be real. Separate bodies could never be real. Private minds could never be real. This world that appears so real to us is not real. Thank goodness we could never make separation real. Thank goodness we are still Love. Thank goodness we are still as God created us and dreams of separation mean nothing.

I need to apply this lesson constantly in my life. I need to remember that only Love is real. I need to be willing to let my mind be healed today. It is worth the diligence. It is worth the practice. Heaven is my true inheritance. This substitute is not my home. Returning to my true Home requires that I forgive, or let go of what is not true and could never be real.

The idea and exercise for today can bring up a variety of emotions. For some it might be a relief to know that God is not the cause of the death, destruction and injustices we perceive in the world, because then we do not need to fear God. For others it may be a shock and raise more questions. If God did not create this world, who did? Who is responsible for all the disasters and pain and suffering in this world? The hidden meaning behind “responsible” is blame. The ego is always looking for something or someone to blame, to project guilt onto. The shock comes because this idea challenges what we have been taught to believe.

Others may experience dismay because this idea undermines the sense of identity that comes from believing we understand or at least partially understand what the world means and how it came to be. It can lead to questions like, If God did not create this world, why am I here? Am I meaningless? These questions also stem from the ego, trying to establish an identity in images that are not real.

Some of us may experience all of these emotions and more when we face the idea that God did not create a meaningless world and so it is not real. Yet this idea helps us open our minds to new meaning, to the recognition of God as Love and nothing else. It also prepares the way for us to recognize ourselves as Love and nothing else, for we were created by Love. At this point it is not necessary that we recognize the full import of this statement. That will dawn upon us as our minds are open to the loving instruction of our inner Teacher. At this time we need only practice the exercise, trusting that it will do its part in opening our minds to the recognition of our Self as God created It.

It is only because we identify with the play too much (as being real) that we are in trouble. Without shadows as well as light (contrasts) there could be no picture. Evil is the shadow that converts the one beam of God’s light into pictures or forms. Therefore, evil (contrasting with good) is the shadow of God that makes this play possible. The dark shadows of evil are mixed with the pure white beam of the virtues of God. He wants you not to take these pictures so seriously.